If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

to do it through e bay it can be a pain .... I can send items to usa on ebay at a reasonable price but if I buy from usa the shiping always seems to be crazy high so ive stopped buying from usa on ebay

I am selling the 4 Space 1999 figures and it says anywhere from $39 to $69 to ship but the auction is only at $25. He says he would go up to $45 but with him getting these figures on the cheap I do not want to loose on having to pay shipping as well. Thoughts?

HI!
I have been buying COLLECTIBLES (Toys, comics etc etc) from all over the world (I live in Italy) for the last 25 years...

The weird thing is that they increased 3x the shipping prizes without improving the delivery times or service in general.

In my experience there's no problem in buying or selling worldwide BUT:
1. Shipping prizes can be HIGH unless you use First class mail
2. insurance is useless because nobody will ever reimbourse you if something goes wrong
3. Many sellers are scared that somebody who paid via paypal could open a case for an undelivered item so they force you to use Priority Mail or even more expensive systems with tracking and signature on delivery
4. Beware also to custom duties...these can be a hidden additional economical drain (In Italy anything with a value higher than $25 gets a 22% VAT + 8% custom duty)
5. The infamous Ebay Global Shipping Program should solve all problems raised at 1. 2. 3. 4. BUT the shipping expenses are extremely high and you end up paying 100% of duties all the times...

Buyers outside USA should be aware from the beginning that shipping will be high and that they will have to pay more than a USA resident...but sometimes EUR/US$ change rate helps!

If you are the seller, ALWAYS specify the exact shipping rate to any possible buyer asking for information about this... Shipping expenses are normally charged 100% to the buyer.